Pete Buttigieg: Media the 'Daylight of Democracy,' Not the 'Enemy of the People'

AP Photo/John Locher

Mayor Pete Buttigieg defended the media from President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

During a speech at a town hall in Iowa, Buttigieg claimed that Trump was not living up to the founding ideals of the country by taking shots at the media.

Trump’s behavior, he said, was troubling for the United States, making it harder to project virtue around the world in places like Venezuela.

He said:

How are we supposed to go around the world, how are we supposed to stand up to the dictatorship of Venezuela and other parts of the world right now if we ourselves are not living up to the idea that the press isn’t the enemy of the people; they are the daylight of democracy, and the idea that the rule of law ought to be applied no matter what the president or ruler thinks ought to be done?

Buttigieg, who has earned rave reviews from many in the media, frequently participates in interviews and cites their reporting.

“At a time like this when the press are under daily assault it is important, I think, for candidates whether the coverage on any given day is critical or supportive or somewhere in between, know that the press is never the enemy of the people,” he said during a speech to the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Miami.

He previously stated his onetime interest pursuing a career as a broadcast journalist.

“You are the defenders of the people, the chroniclers of the people, and the watchdogs of the people and you have told the stories of our time,” he said.